◆ Access data real-time from the built-in accelerometer, magnetometer and gyroscope sensors◆ Turn an iPhone into a magnetometer◆ Turn an iPhone into a Plant Moisture Meter using HiJack◆ Connect to Bluetooth low energy devices from the iPhone and iPad◆ Collect Data from a model rocket iPhone flight using the TI SensorTag◆ Hack a Remote Control car with an Arduino and Bluetooth LE◆ Build Bluetooth low energy based circuits◆ Connect a servo using WiFi

Check out the Early Release of the eBook at http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920029281.do

CREATE STAND ALONE APPS WITH techBASIC AND techBASIC APP BUILDER

◆ Write your apps in techBASIC on your iPad or iPhone.◆ Use techBASIC App Builder and Xcode on a Mac to compile it for distribution.◆ Sell your app on the App Store.

See: http://www.byteworks.us/Byte_Works/techBASIC_App_Builder.html

SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT WITH techBASIC

KEY FEATURES:

COLLECT DATA

◆ Send and receive data from Bluetooth LE devices (only on hardware that supports Bluetooth LE)--control the Internet of Things, right from your iPhone or iPad ◆ Collect data from outside sensors using HiJack ◆ Access to the built-in accelerometer, magnetometer and gyroscope ◆ Get the current GPS location and heading ◆ Supports TCP/IP, HTTP and FTP for accessing information via WiFi connections

BASIC PROGRAMMING

◆ Create apps with all of the standard iOS controls ° Use buttons, lists, sliders, pickers, etc. ° Take pictures with the camera ° Display web sites and documents ° Show maps ◆ Step and trace debugger ° Set breakpoints with a tap ° See current variables, both local and global ° See everything in a variable, even large matrices ◆ Array & matrix commands like matrix inversion, determinants, matrix arithmetic & more ◆ BASIC is easy to learn and use ◆ BASIC ranks in the top 5 most popular programming languages in most surveys

What's New

Version History

3.3.3

13 Feb 2017

° Fixes a problem under iOS 8 that causes a crash when a new program is created.

3.3.2

3 Oct 2016

- Fixes copy/paste in iOS 10.

3.3.1

5 Jul 2016

• The iPad Pro screen sizes are directly supported.• GET and PUT support longer files and longer arrays in files.• The tab key on external keyboards is supported.• Changes in iOS 9 caused problems with external keyboards; these have been corrected.• Changes in iOS 9 caused problems with several BLE calls; these have been corrected.• Numerous minor enhancements and bug fixes. See our support page for details.

3.3

13 Aug 2015

• Code completion helps you enter programs with suggested identifiers and reserved words.• Text is colored by syntax.• A new programming oriented editor shows lines without wrapping and supports horizontal scrolling.• UDP support allows communication with devices that use UDP for communication.• The barometer sensor on the iPhone 6 is supported.• The keyboardChanged event notifies the program when the keyboard is shown or hidden.• TextView.replaceText now allows replacement of a range of text in a TextView.• Image.getCameraImage now has an optional parameter to specify that the image should come from the front camera.• Comm.readHTTP now has an optional parameter to set the communications time out value.• When emailing source, the source is now also included as an attachment.• Integer exponents now get special treatment, so expressions like (-2.3)^2 work with no error.• Numerous minor enhancements and bug fixes, especially for iOS 8. See our support page for details.

3.2.2

8 Oct 2014

• Better support for Unicode characters in string operations.• Your apps can vibrate the iPhone.• Polygon operations are available when drawing on images.• Fixes incompatibilities with iOS 8.• Numerous bug fixes. See our support page for details.

3.2.1

11 Oct 2013

• Opening a program for the first time opens it at the top. Switching to another file and back opens an edited file approximately at the last cursor position.

• (iOS 7) Formatting some single precision numbers caused a crash; this has been corrected.

• (iOS 7) Breakpoints no longer disappear without warning.

• (iOS 7) The status bar overlapped some views, especially the What's New view on the iPhone. This has been corrected.

• (iOS 7) The up and down arrow keys work on Bluetooth keyboards, again. Holding the key down does not repeat the cursor move, though--that will have to wait for changes in iOS.

• (iOS 7) The size of the graphics screen now updates upon rotation.

• (iOS 7) The Find and Replace commands scroll the text properly.

• (iOS 7) Hitting a breakpoint in Source view, switching to the graphics view, then switching back to the source view no longer crashes techBASIC.

• (iOS 7) The E-M Field sample no longer crashes techBASIC.

• Setting the font style or color failed for text drawn to a pixel graphics screen.

• The status bar is not longer hidden when running an app in full screen mode for the first time.

• Updates of plots on screens that do not use pixel graphics are now faster.

3.2

18 Sep 2013

• The user interface has been reworked to support iOS 7.

• Complete support for BLE peripheral mode lets you treat an iPhone or iPad as a BLE device. Chapters 9 and 10 of Building iPhone and iPad Electronics Projects show two projects using these commands.

• New events have been added to support BLE.

• The BLE class has a new method to support BLE peripheral mode: newBLEPeripheralManager. BLEService adds the isPrimary method.

• A new method, Comm.isReadyForOutput, allows an app to check to see if a TCP/IP, HTTP or FTP port is ready to receive output.

• New samples have been added to the O’Reilly Books folder, including BLE Chat A, BLE Chat B, Paddles, Left Paddle and Right Paddle.

• On the iPhone, dismissing the keyboard now saves the source immediately.

• Numerous bug fixes and minor enhancements have been added. See the Byte Works Support Page for details.

3.1

28 Apr 2013

• New samples for Chapters 8, 10 and 11 of the O'Reilly book "Building iPhone & iPad Electronics Projects," including:

◊ BLE Truck: Hack a radio control truck to control it from an iPhone or iPad using a Red Bear BLE Shield and an Arduino.

◊ WiFly Terminal: Communicate with any serial device using an RN-XV WiFly module.

◊ Serial Servos: Control servos remotely using a WiFly and a Pololu Serial Servo Controller.

• Easily draw irregular shapes with the new Graphics.drawPoly and Graphics.fillPoly methods.

• Numerous bug fixes and minor updates. See the support page of the Byte Works web site for details.

3.0

12 Apr 2013

New Features

• Programs can now be organized in folders.

• Lots of new samples are provided; these are organized in folders.

• You can move, copy or create aliases of programs.

• There is a new Subs button when editing a program on the iPad. Tap it to get a list of subroutines and functions in the program. Tap the name of a subroutine or function to jump to it.

• The font size can be changed.

• There is now a System.showSource method to show source; it’s handy just before a program ends to switch back to the source view during development.

• HTTP passwords are supported.

Bug Fixes

• There have been numerous bug fixes and minor enhancements. See our support page at http://www.byteworks.us/Byte_Works/Support.html for details.

2.6.1

24 Feb 2013

• Presenting dialogs for email, camera or photo picker from an iPhone in full screen mode no longer hangs the application.

• Redimensioning an array passed BYREF from within a subroutine no longer crashes techBASIC when the next app is executed.

• Swipes on plots no longer switch to creating multiple callouts after 2 seconds of swiping.

• Moving a slider control no longer stops after 2 seconds of movement.

• A memory leak when using FTP commands has been fixed.

• Passing an object whose type conflicts with the declared parameter type for the subroutine is now correctly flagged as an error.

• LINE INPUT commands used with HTTP, FTP and TCP/IP streams can now be stopped with the Stop button.Opening a TCP/IP stream and using it for input, but not output, no longer leaves the connection open when the stream is closed.

2.6

10 Feb 2013

New Features

• TCP/IP commands let you control WiFi sensors and content.• FTP commands support transferring data files to and from FTP sites.• HTTP commands give you programatic access to web sites.• The _ character can now be used to continue a logical line across more than one physical line.• Setting the value of an object to NULL now disposes of the object if the variable was the last reference to the object.• Objects can now be compared to NULL.

Bug Fixes and Minor Changes

• The CLEAR command was clearing predefined classes like System; it no longer does this.• Passing an empty string in the array of UUIDs for BLEPeripheralClass.discoverCharacteristics no longer causes a crash.• The keyboard intermittently skipped input running under iOS 6. This has been corrected.• Some sequences of actions on an iPad resulted in a blank help screen. This no longer happens.• Errors on the first line of a program can now be viewed.• Errors reported due to referencing a non-existent method when passing a parameter to a subroutine are now reported in the correct location.• Pressing and holding a button, then releasing it, now correctly fires the button.• For some iOS and iPhone combinations, plots did not appear immediately when using System.showGraphics; this has been corrected.

2.5

13 Jan 2013

New Features

• Graphics.setUpdate allows automatic graphics screen updates to be turned on and off, making it easier to create flicker-free transitions while painting on the graphics screen.

Bug Fixes and Minor Changes

• LOF and LOC support files up to 2147483647 bytes long.• POS, TAB and SPC support long arguments and return long values to support strings up to 2147483647 characters long. The documentation has been updated to indicate that strings up to 2147483647 characters long are allowed throughout techBASIC.• Arrays can now be up to 2147483647 bytes long.• Low battery warnings no longer result in the loss of the text being typed when the warning is displayed.• String values with end of line or carriage returns display these characters as _ in the debugger, preventing issues with the display of string constants.• LINE INPUT did not always scroll the console so the cursor was visible. It is properly scrolled, now.• When the device is rotated, plots are now resized and retiled to match the new screen size. Detect the rotation in the didRotate event and reposition the plots manually if the plots need to be placed in a specific location.• On the iPhone, use of an external keyboard does not trigger showing the toolbar, making it impossible to do searches, undo, redo, get help or share files.• Running a program in full screen mode on the iPhone, then running another program that is not in full screen mode, did not reset the size of the graphics screen.• The documentation for the didRotate subroutine did not point out that it is only valid in full screen mode. The documentation has been corrected.• BLEDescriptor.value flagged an out of memory error if the descriptor value is empty. It now returns an empty array of integer values.• The snippet shown for the discoverDescriptors method has been corrected.• Several samples in the manual had the incorrect syntax

2.4

5 Nov 2012

New in version 2.4:

• Supports the iPhone 5 4 inch retina display. • The full screen can be displayed, hiding all techBASIC controls. See System.showGraphics, which now has an optional parameter to show the graphics screen in full-screen mode. • The ability to move source files to and from techBASIC using iTunes has been removed at Apple's insistence. You can still use iTunes to move data files. • There are now getters for control locations. See the X, Y, WIDTH and HEIGHT methods in the Control class. • Screen rotations can be detected using a didRotate subroutine. • Screen orientations can be allowed or rejected using System.setAllowedOrientations. • techBASIC shows a tools button when running on the iPhone, running on the iPad when a 3D plot is displayed, or on either platform when in full screen mode. This tools button can now be hidden. See System.showGraphics, which now has an optional parameter to hide the tools button. • Added Math.packXXX and Math.unpackXXX methods to move numeric values to and from arrays of bytes--great for Bluetooth LE programs. • There is a new ColorPicker control that lets a user programmatically select a color. • The debugger now shows the class name for variables holding objects. • Plot.setBackgroundColor now accepts an alpha value, allowing a background to show through a plot. • Plot.setAllowedGestures gives a way to block unwanted gestures on a plot. • All bugs reported by October 22, 2012 have been fixed. See the support page at www.byteworks.us for a complete list of bug fixes.

2.3

19 Aug 2012

New in version 2.3:

• Write programs to access Bluetooth LE devices. • New trig functions include ACOS, ANGLE (two-argument arc tangent), ASIN, COSH, COT, CSC, SEC, SINH and TANH--everything you'll find in most trig classes is now in techBASIC. • New trig helper functions include PI, DEG and RAD. • Logarithms are available for base 10 and base 2. • The MOD operator returns the integer remainder from a division. • techBASIC now supports both vector and pixel graphics drawing modes. Use vector graphics when the image will be scaled or shared, and pixel graphics when drawing repeatedly to the graphics screen. See the new setPixelGraphics and isPixelGraphics commands. • Drawing commands are now available in the Image class. Draw on top of existing images, or create images entirely from scratch, then use them for buttons or to blit to the screen. • Turn antialiasing on or off with the new setANtialiased and isAntialiased methods. • Draw images to the graphics screen using the new drawImage command. • setColor now has an optional alpha value, allowing drawing with translucent colors. • PRINT and PRINT USING can now print to strings, making it easy to take advantage of the formatting power of PRINT USING. • The POS string search function allows fast searches within BASIC strings. • The new LTRIM and RTRIM functions make it easy to remove leading and trailing spaces from strings. • Help is now indexed, so you can find help in the long list of functions, statements, classes and methods quicker. • It's now possible to edit at an error location without moving the cursor from outside the error: Tap on the selected error area, and the error disappears and you begin editing at the tap location. As before, tapping on an error other than the one with a visible message displays the error message for that error. • Sharing text with the Share button no longer leaves techBASIC. The email message that is generated still uses Mail for distribution but this is done from within techBASIC. • MOD is now a reserved word. POS is no longer a reserved word. • The SIZE and LBOUND functions failed on passed parameters. They work correctly, now. • Math.zero could fail to find an answer in some situations. Adjusting the search range returned a valid result. It works correctly in these situations, now. • Disabled and hidden controls still reported touchUpInside events. This no longer happens. • When sharing source code using the Share button, leading spaces are now properly preserved. • Corrected the parameter name for the URL parameter in the documentation for the finishedLoad event.

New in version 2.2:

Significant upgrades to the math capabilities of techBASIC make it even better for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). The new features include:

• Numeric integration is supported with three different methods. • Fit lines or polynomials using linear regression. • Find zero crossings for functions. • Solve systems of linear equations with LU decomposition. • Random number generation using Mersenne Twister, with both uniform and normally distributed numbers. • More special functions, including gamma, log(gamma), mean, standard deviation and variance. • Hide the program list in landscape view. • Fixed all bugs reported by 12 May 2012.

2.2

21 May 2012

New in version 2.2:

Significant upgrades to the math capabilities of techBASIC make it even better for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). The new features include:

• Numeric integration is supported with three different methods. • Fit lines or polynomials using linear regression. • Find zero crossings for functions. • Solve systems of linear equations with LU decomposition. • Random number generation using Mersenne Twister, with both uniform and normally distributed numbers. • More special functions, including gamma, log(gamma), mean, standard deviation and variance. • Hide the program list in landscape view. • Fixed all bugs reported by 12 May 2012.

Dozens of new features, like surface plots, vector plots, iOS controls, taking pictures and sending emails, let you customize the way you interact with techBASIC programs. Here are the highlights; for details, see the updated techBASIC 2.0 Reference Manual on the Byte Works web site, or browse through the built-in help system in techBASIC.

• techBASIC 1.2 already plots 3D functions; now you can plot arbitrary surfaces in three dimensions, like a torus. • Create 2D and 3D vector plots, like the new interactive sample that shows how a magnetic field changes as current is varied in two wires. • Event driven programming lets you track tap and touch events on your graphics screen and plots. • Controls let you interact with data, as in our new Torus Geometry sample that visually explores the progression of a torus from a donut shape to a sphere. Controls include: ° Slider – Add dynamic control to programs, like the new torus sample that gradually changes the geometry of a torus from a donut shape to a sphere. ° Button – Customize the program’s interaction with buttons. ° Images – Display and scale images. ° Labels – Add meaningful text labels to plots and controls. ° Stepper – Select values with stepper controls. ° Switches – Use switches to enable and disable features. ° Table – Use text tables to display and select information. ° TextField – Display and edit single lines of textual information. ° TextView – Display and edit multiple lines of textual information. • Create emails with attachments right from your program, and forward them to the Mail application for the user’s approval. • Display alerts to flag errors or inform the user. • Take photos or fetch images from the photo library for display or analysis. • Treat photos and images as data, analyzing them pixel-by-pixel if needed.

Be sure and look through the reference manual for dozens of new examples showing how to get the most from techBASIC, and stop by our web site for an ever-expanding collection of blogs.

2.1.1

9 May 2012

New in version 2.1.1:

• Fixed all bugs reported by 2 May 2012.

New in version 2.1:

• Added the string functions LCASE and UCASE.• Fixed all bugs reported by 23 April 2012.

New in version 2.0:

Dozens of new features, like surface plots, vector plots, iOS controls, taking pictures and sending emails, let you customize the way you interact with techBASIC programs. Here are the highlights; for details, see the updated techBASIC 2.0 Reference Manual on the Byte Works web site, or browse through the built-in help system in techBASIC.

• techBASIC 1.2 already plots 3D functions; now you can plot arbitrary surfaces in three dimensions, like a torus. • Create 2D and 3D vector plots, like the new interactive sample that shows how a magnetic field changes as current is varied in two wires. • Event driven programming lets you track tap and touch events on your graphics screen and plots. • Controls let you interact with data, as in our new Torus Geometry sample that visually explores the progression of a torus from a donut shape to a sphere. Controls include: ° Slider – Add dynamic control to programs, like the new torus sample that gradually changes the geometry of a torus from a donut shape to a sphere. ° Button – Customize the program’s interaction with buttons. ° Images – Display and scale images. ° Labels – Add meaningful text labels to plots and controls. ° Stepper – Select values with stepper controls. ° Switches – Use switches to enable and disable features. ° Table – Use text tables to display and select information. ° TextField – Display and edit single lines of textual information. ° TextView – Display and edit multiple lines of textual information. • Create emails with attachments right from your program, and forward them to the Mail application for the user’s approval. • Display alerts to flag errors or inform the user. • Take photos or fetch images from the photo library for display or analysis. • Treat photos and images as data, analyzing them pixel-by-pixel if needed.

Be sure and look through the reference manual for dozens of new examples showing how to get the most from techBASIC, and stop by our web site for an ever-expanding collection of blogs.

2.1

1 May 2012

New in 2.1:

• Added the string functions LCASE and UCASE.• Fixed all bugs reported by 23 April 2012.

New in version 2.0:

Dozens of new features, like surface plots, vector plots, iOS controls, taking pictures and sending emails, let you customize the way you interact with techBASIC programs. Here are the highlights; for details, see the updated techBASIC 2.0 Reference Manual on the Byte Works web site, or browse through the built-in help system in techBASIC.

• techBASIC 1.2 already plots 3D functions; now you can plot arbitrary surfaces in three dimensions, like a torus. • Create 2D and 3D vector plots, like the new interactive sample that shows how a magnetic field changes as current is varied in two wires. • Event driven programming lets you track tap and touch events on your graphics screen and plots. • Controls let you interact with data, as in our new Torus Geometry sample that visually explores the progression of a torus from a donut shape to a sphere. Controls include: ° Slider – Add dynamic control to programs, like the new torus sample that gradually changes the geometry of a torus from a donut shape to a sphere. ° Button – Customize the program’s interaction with buttons. ° Images – Display and scale images. ° Labels – Add meaningful text labels to plots and controls. ° Stepper – Select values with stepper controls. ° Switches – Use switches to enable and disable features. ° Table – Use text tables to display and select information. ° TextField – Display and edit single lines of textual information. ° TextView – Display and edit multiple lines of textual information. • Create emails with attachments right from your program, and forward them to the Mail application for the user’s approval. • Display alerts to flag errors or inform the user. • Take photos or fetch images from the photo library for display or analysis. • Treat photos and images as data, analyzing them pixel-by-pixel if needed.

Be sure and look through the reference manual for dozens of new examples showing how to get the most from techBASIC, and stop by our web site for an ever-expanding collection of blogs.

2.0

15 Apr 2012

Dozens of new features, like surface plots, vector plots, iOS controls, taking pictures and sending emails, let you customize the way you interact with techBASIC programs. Here are the highlights; for details, see the updated techBASIC 2.0 Reference Manual on the Byte Works web site, or browse through the built-in help system in techBASIC.

• techBASIC 1.2 already plots 3D functions; now you can plot arbitrary surfaces in three dimensions, like a torus. • Create 2D and 3D vector plots, like the new interactive sample that shows how a magnetic field changes as current is varied in two wires. • Event driven programming lets you track tap and touch events on your graphics screen and plots. • Controls let you interact with data, as in our new Torus Geometry sample that visually explores the progression of a torus from a donut shape to a sphere. Controls include: ° Slider – Add dynamic control to programs, like the new torus sample that gradually changes the geometry of a torus from a donut shape to a sphere. ° Button – Customize the program’s interaction with buttons. ° Images – Display and scale images. ° Labels – Add meaningful text labels to plots and controls. ° Stepper – Select values with stepper controls. ° Switches – Use switches to enable and disable features. ° Table – Use text tables to display and select information. ° TextField – Display and edit single lines of textual information. ° TextView – Display and edit multiple lines of textual information. • Create emails with attachments right from your program, and forward them to the Mail application for the user’s approval. • Display alerts to flag errors or inform the user. • Take photos or fetch images from the photo library for display or analysis. • Treat photos and images as data, analyzing them pixel-by-pixel if needed.

Be sure and look through the reference manual for dozens of new examples showing how to get the most from techBASIC, and stop by our web site for an ever-expanding collection of blogs.

1.2

7 Dec 2011

techBASIC now has HiJack support, so you can collect data from external devices using the A-D converter from the University of Michigan that plugs right into the headphone port on your iPhone/iPad! HiJack is an easy to use, low cost hardware accessory that converts a 2.75 V input into a 0-255 digital value.

Check out the announcement on the Byte Works web site for an overview, or read about the new HiJack class in the techBASIC reference manual, also available from the Byte Works web site, for details.

1.1

10 Nov 2011

Two new methods give you interactive updates with sensors. The methods are Graphics.repaint and PlotPoints.setPoints. Check out the new G Force, Accelerometer, Magnetometer and Gyroscope samples for samples that use these methods.

The System class has two new methods. Device tells whether your program is running on an iPhone or iPad, and Orientation gives the current screen orientation.

Add bugs reported by 4 November 2011 are fixed.

1.0.2

28 Oct 2011

Fixes all bugs reported by October 27, 2011.There has also been an update to the reference manual. Visit www.byteworks.us for a free download of the new manual.

1.0.1

20 Oct 2011

Fixes all bugs reported by October 18, 2011.

1.0

12 Oct 2011

13 Feb 2017

Version 3.3.3

° Fixes a problem under iOS 8 that causes a crash when a new program is created.

Ratings and Reviews

Excellent implementation of BASIC.

20 Dec 2013

SiriusOpticsUK

TechBASIC is an excellent package that allows you to develop and use the iPad for, in particular, Physics and optical systems. You can generate a program considerably quicker than using Objective C and X-code on a Mac as it is a simpler, but powerful, language. The program can be run on your iPad without generating the App and therefore saves time when collecting and analysing data for a project. As a physicist and scientist the ease of use for using an iPad provides a simple way to collect and analyse data in real time. Without techBASIC, it is necessary to use another computer system to collect the data, writing a program on a Mac, for example, to analyse, and process data, which is time consuming. In todays environment it is required to perform the project as quickly as possible, but professionally and accurately. TechBASIC and the iPad allows the process to be faster, professional, and accurate.

My old BASIC programs are coming back to life for my professional use and for my hobby as an astronomer. The combination of techBASIC and the iPad is an ideal combination for the physical sciences.

TechBASIC is unreservedly recommended.

Excellent implementation of BASIC.

20 Dec 2013

SiriusOpticsUK

TechBASIC is an excellent package that allows you to develop and use the iPad for, in particular, Physics and optical systems. You can generate a program considerably quicker than using Objective C and X-code on a Mac as it is a simpler, but powerful, language. The program can be run on your iPad without generating the App and therefore saves time when collecting and analysing data for a project. As a physicist and scientist the ease of use for using an iPad provides a simple way to collect and analyse data in real time. Without techBASIC, it is necessary to use another computer system to collect the data, writing a program on a Mac, for example, to analyse, and process data, which is time consuming. In todays environment it is required to perform the project as quickly as possible, but professionally and accurately. TechBASIC and the iPad allows the process to be faster, professional, and accurate.

My old BASIC programs are coming back to life for my professional use and for my hobby as an astronomer. The combination of techBASIC and the iPad is an ideal combination for the physical sciences.

TechBASIC is unreservedly recommended.

A step back in time

26 Jul 2013

WMVyla

Having purchased this after looking at the website plus the fact that no demo, trial or lite version seems to be available, I'm not happy. This is like a step back in time.

While there is no doubt that it is a powerful app considering that the language is Basic, it's like the Basic of a decade or so ago. These days, one has come to expect simpler, more visual ways of placing standard screen elements and controls. Everything in this app looks like it has to be written out by hand. Even simple tasks like placing buttons is a chore while you have to work out their sizes and coordinates. I am a professional programmer and even I just find this tedious. I've never had to do this for the last fifteen years at least, working in Delphi and C++. Getting the IDE to help out with these things saves so much time and unnecessary fiddling about.

Although the company has not misrepresented this product at all - it performs very well indeed - I feel that it should have been made clear that this was basically a non-visual programming environment. I want to be able to bash out programs where the user can enter parameters in about twenty or so different fields. With this app, I just can't be bothered spending my time on the screen presentation.

I wish I could get a refund. I don't expect modern apps to be like this.

A step back in time

26 Jul 2013

WMVyla

Having purchased this after looking at the website plus the fact that no demo, trial or lite version seems to be available, I'm not happy. This is like a step back in time.

While there is no doubt that it is a powerful app considering that the language is Basic, it's like the Basic of a decade or so ago. These days, one has come to expect simpler, more visual ways of placing standard screen elements and controls. Everything in this app looks like it has to be written out by hand. Even simple tasks like placing buttons is a chore while you have to work out their sizes and coordinates. I am a professional programmer and even I just find this tedious. I've never had to do this for the last fifteen years at least, working in Delphi and C++. Getting the IDE to help out with these things saves so much time and unnecessary fiddling about.

Although the company has not misrepresented this product at all - it performs very well indeed - I feel that it should have been made clear that this was basically a non-visual programming environment. I want to be able to bash out programs where the user can enter parameters in about twenty or so different fields. With this app, I just can't be bothered spending my time on the screen presentation.

I wish I could get a refund. I don't expect modern apps to be like this.

techBasic

18 Jan 2013

iggybglw

If you learned to program using Basic this is the app for you. The Graphics classes give you features not found in earlier types of Basic and you can create plots much easier than with other Basics. The support is very good with quick response to emails

techBasic

18 Jan 2013

iggybglw

If you learned to program using Basic this is the app for you. The Graphics classes give you features not found in earlier types of Basic and you can create plots much easier than with other Basics. The support is very good with quick response to emails